By PHUONG CAT LE, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, June 7, 2006

The University of Washington student shot to death in his car by a King County sheriff's deputy was a convicted felon, but friends remembered him Wednesday as a would-be teacher dedicated to social work.

Pedro Jo, 33, was shot multiple times Tuesday morning after a violent scuffle with the deputy, who pulled him over on Interstate 5 in South Seattle for driving erratically.

While all the facts of the shooting -- and the deputy's name -- have not been released, the Seattle P-I has identified the deputy as Paul Schene, who works out of SeaTac. A five-year veteran of the force, Schene, 28, is currently on paid administrative leave -- a standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

It isn't the deputy's first shooting-related leave. It happened in 2002, after Schene shot and wounded a 23-year-old car-thief suspect who had led deputies on a wild chase in Burien, according to court records.

After three women fled the car, deputies approached on foot. The driver rammed one of them in the legs with his vehicle and sped away, records show.

During the pursuit, Schene used his patrol vehicle to bump the thief's car, causing it to jump a curb. The driver, who had a long criminal record, got out and began heading toward Schene, ignoring the deputy's order to stop, according to police. Schene then fired three shots, hitting the man in the chest, arm and leg.

It was not immediately known if that shooting resulted in any disciplinary action. Sheriff's officials would not discuss Schene's record Wednesday.

Schene also made the news as recently as December, when he wrecked his patrol car near Sea-Tac Airport, according to a newspaper report.

With his patrol lights flashing, Schene struck the front of another vehicle, lost control and crashed into a wall. Two Army soldiers from a Las Vegas-based unit witnessed the accident and helped pull the injured deputy to safety moments before his patrol car burst into flames, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Officers are justified in using deadly force if they believe that their lives are in danger. Tuesday's shooting could easily be ruled justified, for example, if Jo had been reaching for a weapon or preparing to use the vehicle as a battering ram.

Sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart said Wednesday that details about what led up to the shooting probably won't be revealed until a formal inquest hearing is held.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office said Jo died of "multiple gunshot wounds," but declined to specify the number of times he was shot and where.

"I'm still in shock," Jo's brother, Frank, said Wednesday. He and his parents are making arrangements to have the body shipped to Los Angeles, where a memorial service will be held early next week.

Frank Jo said a detective told him that his brother, who he said suffered from schizophrenia, was shot several times in the upper body because the deputy feared for his life.

"How could that be?" asked Jo, who believes the deputy shot "out of anger."

"It was a major fight, I mean, the stuff you see on the 'Ultimate Fighting' thing," Bridgette Pugh, who saw the shooting from the back of Schene's patrol car, told KIRO/7 on Wednesday.

Pugh, who has a criminal record, also told KIRO that she was being taken to jail when the deputy stopped to pull over Jo on I-5. She said she was stunned by the fight, which left the officer with minor injuries.

"It's a bunch of wrestling. It was intense," she told KIRO. Moments later, after Jo returned to his car, she said, the deputy fired at least six shots.

It wasn't Jo's first run-in with King County authorities. He pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery and third-degree assault, both felonies, for stealing a wallet from a woman in March 2003. Jo was sentenced to three months in jail and was released in late 2003.

Arline Garcia, who taught Jo at Highline Community College in Des Moines, recalled how upset he had been about that incident, and how he repeatedly said he didn't do it -- claiming it was an altercation over a pay phone.

"He was a really kind person," she said, describing him as a serious, shy student who enjoyed tutoring students in Spanish. "He really wanted to finish college and help his parents."

Others described him as dedicated, motivated and full of life.

"He was a joy to have in class, for both me and the other students," said Tarisa Matsumoto-Maxfield, another Highline teacher.

Jo was employed as a social worker so he could help people who struggled as he did -- primarily poor immigrants, she said.

Jo said that his brother was thrilled to have been accepted at the University of Washington and that he had big dreams.